Worst Impressions

Chapter Twelve

I heard the crunch of tyres on gravel as I walked back to the building and took a detour to the entrance. It could have just been a visitor to the site, or one of the teachers, but I knew the sound of that engine. Jenny's parents had a taste for classic cars, and none of the sleek new models rumbled like them. The vehicle came to a halt, and the driver hopped out to open the rear passenger door.

'Jen'!' I called as I jogged over.

She smiled when our eyes met and held her arms out to catch me in a hug. I had never been so happy to see anyone in my life. With her back, William and Chantelle wouldn't feel obliged to seek my company in her absence.

Oh, and I was glad she was feeling better.

'Miss Jennifer,' the driver said as he took her bag from the boot of the car, 'I will deliver this to your dorm.'

'I can carry it, Bentley,' she assured him.

He looked nervous at the idea of forcing the luggage on someone who had just walked out of the hospital. That being the case, I held out my hand for it. 'Give it to me. I won't break a nail.'

'Thank you, Miss Bennett.' He bowed his head a little. I didn't get servants. People were perfectly capable of doing things for themselves, so what was the point in having someone else do it? By the time it took to give the order, it could have been done already. Still, Bentley was a nice guy and Jenny's family treated him well. And I supposed the guy had a mortgage to pay and needed to put food on the table somehow.

'No problem, Ben. Hey, tell Jenny's Mum that I'll take good care of her, okay?'

'Absolutely. Is there anything else you need, Miss Jennifer?'

'No, I'm fine. Thank you, Bentley.'

He tipped his hat, and we walked away from the car so he had space to turn around in the enormous driveway. My guitar rocked against my back as we walked to the dorms together. I held one of Jenny's hands in mine, the other occupied with keeping her bag from dragging on the ground. Okay, so it was heavier than it looked. She let out a long, relieved breath when we walked in and collapsed onto her bed.

'Was the hospital really that bad?' I asked. 'It was really posh.'

'And dull. I missed it here.'

'You mean that you missed Charlie?'

'No! I mean, I did, but I missed sleeping in my own bed. And everyone else. Where are they, anyway?'

'Oh, Lisa and Chrissy are probably out stalking the boys. Meg is anyone's guess. I'd imagine the library, but if she's distracted, then she could have walked to the edge of the grounds by now.'

'Did anything exciting happen while I was away?'

'Besides the alien invasion? Nothing much.' I sat on my bed and disentangled myself from my guitar. 'Chantelle tried to talk to me today. And William. I think I annoyed him enough that he won't do that again. They're determined to be your friends, though.'

'Once you get to know them, they're not that bad. You're still my best friend. You know that, right?' she asked.

'I know! I'm not worried that they'll steal you from me, or anything. I just think that you should be careful with Chantelle. She's not exactly trustworthy.'

'I think you just have a bad impression of her.'

I snorted softly with laughter. 'Yeah, in the same way that Churchill had a bad impression of Nazi Germany.'

'That's a bit of an extreme example.'

'Well, Chantelle is an extreme bitch, so I figure it works. Anyway, don't go running off in the rain with her again. You almost gave me a heart attack. Even if you like Charlie, that's no reason to put up with her acting like an idiot.'

'I promise, I'll be more careful,' she said. 'And you should be more open to giving people chances. I mean, it's not like it's their fault they're here. William's parents probably made him. When you first arrived, you hated it as well.'

I shrugged. 'Maybe. But it doesn't matter. We're never going to get along. But if it'll make your life easier, I'll try to be civil to him. And I mean actually try. I won't just be sarcastic. Well... I'll be less sarcastic than usual. Look, I'll just not push him down the stairs.'

'That's a good place to start!' Jenny laughed.

I didn't want to be the one to screw things up between Jenny and Charlie. She was so quiet. I didn't know what she was going to do when she got out of school. It wasn't as if she could avoid men for the rest of her life. Even if nothing happened between them romantically, they were good together as friends. I supposed that meant I couldn't scare his friends away without chasing him off with them. Boys always seemed to put their mates ahead of their potential girlfriends. If I terrified or hurt William, neither boy would ever talk to us again.

'Well, I'm happy you're here,' I said. 'At least I don't have to deal with them on my own. Just remember to share some of your time with me, okay? And gossip. I need to know everything.'

'You can't mean absolutely ever-'

'Yes. I do.'